Bittersweet Dream
by THGFAN101
Summary: Dan and Natalie are on opposite ends of the world. Dan is too busy on a quest to stop the Vespers, while Natalie is too busy trying to survive the Vespers "generous" hospitality. What both people desire the most is a chance to relax...and to have some hot chocolate.


**Hello everyone! My first Dan and Natalie story! This is for The Gone Angel's Hot Chocolate Contest.**

**Enjoy!**

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Dreams.

Dan Cahill thought that it was strange that he kept on having dreams. Pleasant dreams. Not nightmares. What made it strange was that he had these dreams during the worst time; in the middle of a quest to save the world.

Not only would he be dreaming at night. He would be dreaming during the day. Dan Arthur Cahill was dreaming about the most ridiculous person: Natalie Kabra.

It's not that he liked her. He shuddered at the thought._ Liking a Cobra is only something Amy would do. _It was just so long since he last played a prank. Who better to play a prank on than Princess Cobra?

Most of the times his dreams were about him ruining Natalie's clothes or destroying all of her weapons collection. Besides, it was great to have fun for once, even though it isn't real.

However, problems have occurred because of his constant dreaming. There has been numerous times when Jake, Atticus, and Amy caught him staring into space. Dan was suspected that they are thinking of him as a lunatic. Not only would he be staring into space, but he would be mumbling random things.

Jake even taped him to prove that he's gone insane. On the tape, Dan was just staring into space saying words like 'ponies', 'unicorns' and 'pizza'.

Dan has dreamed more and more as the days progressed. He believed that because of all the stress he was facing, he was losing his consciousness. Now that reality isn't good for him, the only thing he looks forward to is his dreams. That's the one place where he could control things and act like himself. He could unleash the true Dan, the ninja lord.

Dan was sitting on his desk deeply in thought. He was in his room in the hotel. Jake and Atticus were in the living room researching something on his laptop while Amy was in the kitchen.

He could smell something. Something very delightful. He instantly knew what the tasty sensation was. Hot chocolate.

Dan could feel his mouth water. He yearned for the warm, soft, smooth, calming delectable drink ever invented. He could see the rich chocolate being poured into a mug.

Dan wanted to get up. He wanted to go and grab a mug from Amy. Surprisingly, he did the exact opposite. He stayed where he was. The troubles of the last few days and the jet lag came to him. He felt extremely tired.

Slowly, his eyes closed and he drifted off into an alternate universe.

* * *

Natalie Kabra was sick of it.

She was tired of being ensnared in this horrible place. She was tired of being mistreated horribly. First they had to wear orange jumpsuits. _A fashion catastrophe. _Then there stuck with no decent meal. Even peasants, like the Cahills, don't live off of a slice of bread and some water. She couldn't believe how she was stuck here. Sooner or later, they're all going to die.

What made Natalie uncomfortable was that two hostages died. Phoenix, the Janus's cousin, who died falling off a cliff. The other person who died was Alistair Oh, the Korean man. Even though Natalie didn't like the man, she felt devastated. It was bad enough to see him having a seizure. What's horrible is that she never got a chance to apologize before he died.

What did she ever do to the Vespers? Why was she trapped here? How long will she stay here? Those questions never left her mind.

_"I want my mummy!" _She could never forget what she said. Those words always haunted her. Never in her life had she expected to say that. Especially in front of all the other hostages.

Natalie resented her mother, especially for disowning her and shooting her in the foot. She still had that ugly scar on her foot. But, she still loved her. And missed her.

Natalie sat in the corner of their new prison. Everyone else was sitting down together trying to come up with a plan. She knew it was hopeless. They were never going to get out of here.

She looked at her hands and cringed. She was looking awful. She had to get out of here before she gets a heart attack. She didn't want to age before she really had to do. Her mother, who was in her forties, was as flawless as ever.

Natalie sighed. She missed her old life. She yearned for her luxurious life. She missed the delicious hot chocolate her butler Bickerduff made for her.

Natalie yawned. She hadn't slept well in a _long _time. And by well, she meant sleeping in a king sized four poster bed. She missed her lovely and comfortable bed and pillows.

She looked at the others and they were whispering quietly. They were still coming up with a plan.

_Since they don't need me, I could take a little nap, _she thought to herself.

With one last look at her prison mates, she immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Dan was in an unrecognizable place.

The room large (the size of a classroom) and was painted a bright shade of pink. There was a large chandelier on the ceiling. There were no doors or windows. The only furniture in the room was in the center. There was a large, black leather couch and a brown, wooden table.

Dan could feel his heart beating way too fast. He thought that he was captured by the Vespers. He was a prisoner and all alone.

He immediately looked down at his clothes and frowned. He wasn't in the pajamas he was wearing earlier. He was dressed completely in white. White shirt, white pants, white socks, white shoes and etc…

Then he heard someone cough. He turned around and saw _her. _

Natalie Kabra was standing a few feet away from him. She wore a simple white dress and white heels. Her hair was styled as usual and she had makeup on. Natalie looked like a doll. _An evil doll that's plotting to kill someone…_

She looked at him in disgust. Dan hated when she acted like that. Like she was better than everyone.

"What are you doing here?" he asked angrily. He knew that this was a dream because Natalie is with the Vespers as a hostage. What made him mad was the fact that he wasn't in control. He couldn't make Natalie disappear.

"Hello Daniel," she said in her annoying British accent. "How delightful to see you here, in _my _dream."

"You're dream?" he yelled. "This is _my_ dream. Why don't you go away and dream about French poodles."

Natalie ignored his remark and walked over to him. She then said, "So, how are you guys doing? You do know that we're waiting to be rescued."

"We're trying everything we can!" he told her. He walked toward the couch and sat down. "While you're relaxed in your cell, we're experiencing a lot of horrible thi-"

"You? Experiencing the worst?" she asked laughing. "Wow, Daniel. We're suffering. We watched your uncle _die. _We've lost Phoenix. We're living off of bread and water. You shouldn't be complaining. Please be faster with your rescuing. I can't wait to get out of that horrible place."

Dan felt surprisingly angry. His face was contorted in fury. His nostrils were flaring; his eyes were flashing and closing in slits. He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as he was growing outraged. He clenched his fists. He couldn't believe her! How ungrateful and spoiled she was acting! She doesn't know what they're dealing with!

Just as Dan was about to retort, a silver tray appeared on the table. There were two steaming mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows.

He noticed Natalie's eyes widened when she saw the hot chocolate. Dan got up and picked up a mug and walked over to her.

He knew why he was stuck in this room with Natalie. He knew why he couldn't make her disappear. And he _finally _understood why they we're wearing white.

"Why thank you Daniel," Natalie said extending her arm.

He looked at her then at the mug. "You want it? Here you go!"

Dan raised the mug and dumped all the hot chocolate over her. Her hair was drenched and her white dress was stained chocolate-brown.

Natalie shrieked. Normally, Dan would cover his ears from the horrible sound. However, he was too busy laughing so hard.

"DANIEL ARTHUR CAHILL!" Natalie screamed. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!"

Dan did the most logical thing in a situation like this. He ran for his life.

As he ran around the large room with a screaming Natalie chasing him, he thought of only one thing: this was the best dream he ever had.

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**Please review and/or constructive criticism! :)**


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